Suction tonsillectome



April 26, 1938. R. F. BROWN SUCTION TONSILLECTOME Filed April 16, 1957 glwuc/wfom RODERICK F. ERDWN Patented Apr. 26, 1938 UNITED I STATES PATE SUCTION TONSILLECTOME Roderick F. Brown, Altus, Okla.

Application April 16,

6 Claims.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in suction tonsillectomes and it has for its primary object to provide an instrument of such compact construction and perfect cor- 5 relation of parts that an operator may remove a patients tonsils with the greatest possible skill and safety, having at the same time in his control all equipment necessary for the operation.

Further the invention has for an object to provide an instrument which enables the operator, with a single instrument and the use of one hand only, to draw the tonsil from its capsule or resting place in the throat to such position that it may be severed, the tonsil remaining at all times in plain sight of the operator and, due to the special construction of the instrument enable a practically bloodless operation (no bleeding of the tonsil or any part of the throat occurs until the tonsil is actually severed).

Other objects will in part be obvious and in part generally pointed out hereinafter.

To the attainment of the aforesaid objects and ends, the invention still further resides in those novel details of construction, combination and. arrangement of parts, all of which will be first fully described in the following detailed descrip tion, then be pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had-to the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the instrument.

Fig. 2 is an assembly of the cutting members of the instrument the view being an inverted plan view of the parts mentioned. a

Fig. 3 is a bottom or inverted plan view of the tonsil bowl or cup.

Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of a portion of the instrument showing the valve.

In the drawing in which like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures, I denotes the elongated body of the instrument. This entire piece may be constructed of glass or other transparent material, such as bake-lite for example or it may be made of metal, using a transparent element for the tip or tonsil bowl (see my Patent No. 2,036,998 issued April 4, 1936).

The body I has a longitudinal air duct 2. One end of the duct 2 is enlarged to such dimensions and proportions as to form a bowl or cup 3, into which the tonsil is received. The cup is more fully shown in Fig. 3 in which the general contour is outlined by reference numbers 3.

A sheath 4 is formed on the body I connecting the cup 3 with a projection I from the body. The sheath is tubular to receive the snare post 5.

1937, Serial No. 137,347

The end of the air duct 2, opposite the bowl 3 is provided with a seat 2? to receive the nipple I of an air suction hoseG which hose attaches to a pump or other suitable means to provide a suction (not shown). which'inserts into duct 2 is tapered so as to make a friction-tight connection. It should be borne in mind that this method of attaching the instru- The part of the nipple I ment to the vacuum pump is perhaps the most 7 simple and convenient,'yet' any other form of nipple and flexible conduit may be employed in the successful operation of the instrument.

Atv such a position along the'course of the airduct 2, as is most con venient to the operator, is placed the valve 8. This valve is intended to be operated with the index finger, although other positions may be found more convenient for different operators. Therefore the exact location of valve 8 is not considered to be a feature of this invention. The valve 8 is what is commonly called a plug valve; it may be either tapered or straight-bodied. The plug passes through the body I laterally and intersects the passage or duct 2. It has a bore I of approximately the same diameter as the duct 2, and it is provided with a handle 9 by means of which the valve may be turned to align thebore ID with duct 2 or close oif the passage more or less, accordingly as the valve is turned to one position or another.

The sheath 4 is an integral part of the body I and is bored to receive the snare post 5, the snare post passing through a stulfing box of which II is a packing of suitable material which is pressed into position by gland I2. By this means loss of vacuum is prevented. The snare post is secured to the finger-bar I3 in any approved way as, for example, by the latch arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 at I4.

The finger-bar I3 is secured to the body I by a bolt I 5 which passes between thetwo loops I8 provided for the fingers.

The under face I9'of the body I is flat and the finger-bar I3 slides against such fiat surface I9, which prevents twisting the bar to'undesirable positions. The bolt I 5 is threaded at I 5 into the body I and passes through an apertured. lug I The bolt I5 has a milled head I 6 by which it may be turned to screw it into the body at I5 Beyond the head I 6 there is swivelly mounted on a projection of the bolt, a thumb loop I! (see Fig.1)

The construction of the finger-bar I S and the snare 20 is most clearly'shown in Fig. 2 by reference to which it will be observed that the bar l3 has two loops or eyes I8 into which the index and second fingers pass. The snare post 5 is connected to bar I3, at M, as before described.

groove 22 and allows the tonsil to pass into bowl 3.

Operation In operation the instrument is first made ready I for use in the following manner: Assuming the instrument to be assembled except for the snare wire 20 and the hose and nipple 6 and 1 respectively. The finger-bar l3'is exposing holes 2|. A piece of snare wire 20 of the proper length and having the ends properly crimped to facilitate threading is attached to post 5 in the manner shown in Fig. 2. Finger-bar I3 is now pulled back and adjusted to such a position that snare 20 is in its proper position in the groove 22; packing gland l2 is now tightened enough to insure against leakage. Hose nipple l is inserted in airduct 2 and givena slight twist sothatit tightens in a position where the hose 6 will hang in a natural and convenient position for the operator. The instrument is now held in the operating position, which is with the thumb extending vertically thru thumb loop l1 and with the index and second fingers in loops Ill. The hose 6 should now be hanging so as to pass through the palm of the hand. With the valve in the closed position and the suction pump in operation, the instrument is passed into the patients throat which has been properly prepared for the operation. With the fingers of his free hand on the outside of the patients throat the operatorpresses in the vicinity of the tonsil, thus assisting in raising the tonsil so that the cup 3 of the instrumerit may be placed directly on the tonsil. When the instrument is properly placed over the tonsil the valve is opened and the tonsil allowed to be drawn into the'cup by the action of the pump. The operator can see the tonsil through the walls of the cup and can tell when the proper position is obtained to sever the tonsil, which is done by merely clinching the hand.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing it is thought the construction, operation and advantages of the invention will be clear tothose skilled in the art.

What I claim is:-

1. In a tonsillectome an elongated body having at one end a tonsil bowl to receive a tonsil, said body having an air duct extending from end to end and communicating at one end with said bowl and having means for the attachment of a suction duct at the other end of said airduct, a removable bolt carried by said body, a fingerbar slidably mounted on said bolt, a snare post, a sheath carried by said body for said post, means by which said post is connected at one end to said finger-bar, a snare carried by said post at the other end said snare projecting into said bowl when not in action, and a valve carried by said body .to control passage through said air duct.

finger-bar, a sheath carried by said body and extending rearwardly from said bowl parallelly,

beneath said body and having a bore one end of which communicates with said bowl, a stuffing box at the other end of said bore and a snare post held in said sheath and passing through said stufilng box and being connected to said finger-bar, said snare post adjacent said bowl carrying a snare.

3. In a suction tonsillectome, a body having a tonsil receiving bowl at one end and having an airduct in connection with said bowl and having provision for the connection of said. duct to a suction line, a valve carried by said body to control passage through said duct, said body having a fiat underface, a finger-bar having finger loops and located in contact with said fiatunderface, means carried by said body beneath said flat underface for slidably sustaining said finger-bar,

a sheath carried by said body and extending rearwardly from said bowl parallelly beneath said body and having, a bore one end of which communicates with said bowl, a stuffing box at the othervend of said bore and a snare post held in said sheath and passing throughsaid stuffing box and being connected to said fingerbar, said snare post adjacent said bowl carry.- ing a snare, the finger-bar carrying means aforesaid comprising a bolt, said body having lugs through one of which said bolt passes and is screwed into the other one of which, said finger- V 40 f 4. In a suction tonsillectome, a body having a 7 bar having a bore through which said rod passes.

tonsil receiving bowl at one. end and ,havingan air duct in connection with said bowl and having provision for the connection of said duct to a suction line, a valve carried by said body to cona flat underface, a finger-bar having finger loops and located in contactwithsaid flat underface, means carried by said body beneath said flat underface for slidably sustaining said finger-bar, a sheath carried by said body and extending rear.- Wardly from said bowl parallelly beneath said body and having a bore one end of which communicates with said bowl, a stuffing box at the other end of said bore and a snare post held in said sheath and passing through said stuffing box and being connected to said finger-bar, said snare post adjacent saidbowl carrying a snare, the finger-bar carrying means aforesaid comprising a bolt, said body having lugs through one of which said bolt passes and is screwed into the other one of which, said finger-bar having a bore through Which said rod passes, and a thumb loop carried on the free end of said bolt.

5. In a suction tonsillectome an elongated body having a tonsil receiving bowl at one end and an air duct connecting with said bowl and extending therefrom toward the other end with provisions for connecting to a suction line, said body having two apertured lugs on the under side between which lugs the underface of the body is flat, a valve carried by said body to control passage through said air duct, one of said lugshaving a threaded cavity and a bolt passing through one lug and threaded into said cavity, a finger-bar trol passage through said duct, said body having 7 having a tonsil receiving bowl at one end, an air duct connecting with said bowl and extending therefrom toward the other end with provisions for connecting to a suction line, said body having two apertured lugs on the under side between which lugs the underface of the body is flat, a

valve carried by said body to control passage through said air duct, one of said lugs having a threaded cavity and a bolt passing through one lug and threaded into said cavity, a finger-bar slidably mounted on said bolt and engaging the flat underface of said body, a snare post extending through the aperture of said threaded lug, a sheath between said bowl and said last named lug through which sheath said snare post passes,

a snare connected to the bowl end of said post and 10 normally lying in said bowl, means connecting said post to said finger-bar and means to prevent air passing through said sheath, said bolt having an extension at its free end and a thumb loop rotatably mounted on said extension.

R. F. BROWN. 

